Spherification/reverse spherification automated and integrated system and method

Abstract

An apparatus for producing gelled pearls includes: a housing with at least one opening into which a flavored liquid is provided; external components; and internal components. The external components include: a first ingress port through which a first refill pack is coupled; and a dispenser with tubing through which a processed solution is expelled into a gelling bath. The internal components include: a mixing tank for blending the flavored liquid with the first solution; a first flow valve fluidly coupled with the mixing tank and directing the flavored liquid into and out of the mixing tank; a second flow valve fluidly coupled with the mixing tank and directing flow of a proportional amount of the first solution into the mixing tank; and a microcontroller device.

We claim: 
     
       1. An apparatus for producing gelled pearls, comprising:
 a housing comprising at least one aperture into which a flavored liquid is provided; 
 a first ingress port through which a first solution is provided; 
 a second ingress port through which an edible pH buffer solution is provided; 
 a mixing tank coupled with the at least one aperture, the first ingress port, and the second ingress port; 
 a mixing mechanism in the mixing tank; 
 a dispenser comprising tubing coupled to the mixing tank, the dispenser expelling a processed solution from the mixing tank in a form of droplets into a gelling bath; a third ingress port through which a cleansing agent is provided; and 
 a microcontroller; the microcontroller: is configured to:
 dispense a volume of the flavored liquid through the at least one aperture into the mixing tank; 
 determine if a pH level of the flavored liquid is within a predetermined threshold and if the pH level is not within the predetermined threshold, dispensing an amount of an edible pH buffer solution through the second ingress port into the mixing tank to get the pH level within the predetermined threshold configured to provide a predetermined level of pH suitable for gelling process; 
 calculate an amount of the first solution to add to the mixing tank based on a volume of the flavored liquid; 
 dispense the calculated amount of the first solution into the mixing tank; 
 activate a mixing mechanism to make a processed solution in the mixing tank; and 
 activate the dispenser to dispense the processed solution as droplets into a gelling bath to gellify the droplets into gelled pearls; and direct the cleansing agent into said gelling bath; wherein the dispenser include a nozzle; and a diameter of the tubing and the nozzle affects a size of the gelled pearls, such that wider tubing and a wider nozzle generate larger gelled pearls. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the apparatus performs spherification and wherein the first solution comprises concentrated sodium alginate. 
     
     
       3. The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the apparatus performs reverse spherification and wherein the first solution comprises a salt solution. 
     
     
       4. The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein said mixing mechanism comprises a stirring mechanism. 
     
     
       5. The apparatus of  claim 1  further comprising: an optical drop counter counting the droplets as the droplets are dispensed into the gelling bath. 
     
     
       6. The apparatus of  claim 5  further comprising: a one-way flow nozzle attached to a refill pack for securely inserting the refill pack into at least one of the first or second ingress ports. 
     
     
       7. The apparatus of  claim 6  further comprising: a digital identification reader validating an identifier disposed on the refill pack. 
     
     
       8. The apparatus of  claim 1  further comprising: a communication link providing remote capability in operating the microcontroller. 
     
     
       9. The apparatus of  claim 1  further comprising: a display window providing information about production of the gelled pearls. 
     
     
       10. The apparatus of  claim 9  further comprising: a user interface comprising user-selectable options selected for customizing the gelled pearls. 
     
     
       11. The apparatus of  claim 10  wherein the user interface is generated on a remote device. 
     
     
       12. The apparatus of  claim 11  wherein the user-selectable options comprise recipes and wherein the microcontroller device further performs:
 receiving a recipe; and 
 calculating amounts of fluids to combine in order to follow the recipe. 
 
     
     
       13. The apparatus of  claim 3  wherein the salt solution comprises calcium lactate gluconate. 
     
     
       14. The apparatus of  claim 13  wherein the gelling bath comprises sodium alginate. 
     
     
       15. The apparatus of  claim 2  wherein the gelling bath comprises a salt solution. 
     
     
       16. The apparatus of  claim 15  wherein the salt solution comprises calcium lactate gluconate. 
     
     
       17. The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the buffer solution comprises sodium citrate.